Thursday, June 15, 2006

Statements from District Attorney Mike Nifong haven't always matched the documents from his own files. Here's a look at several seeming discrepancies, drawn from interview transcripts and investigative documents given to defense lawyers.

This is the politically correct way for The News & Observer to say that Mike Nifong is a liar.

Nifong is a damned liar since the lives of three innocent young men are being ruined because of his lies. Documenting the lies:

DNA/Condoms

In March the prosecution was suggesting there would be DNA evidence. Then Mike Nifong started saying a condom was used. But the accuser told a nurse on the morning of the alleged assault that no condom was used.

A sworn statement made by the district attorney's office when it asked a judge to order the players to submit DNA samples. The statement said:

"The DNA evidence requested will immediately rule out any innocent person and show conclusive evidence as to who the suspect(s) are in the alleged violent attack upon this victim.”

KEVIN MILLER, WPTF RADIO: a lot was made of the DNA. He [Nifong] did over 70 interviews. He told me personally on the air at WPTF that DNA is bullet-proof. You don`t get a false positive. Then when the DNA didn`t come back the way that the prosecutors thought it would, you have a second DNA test.

NIFONG: Now, if there is no DNA left, then there is obviously nothing to compare. For instance, if a condom were used, then we might expect that there would not be any DNA evidence recovered from say a vaginal swab.

"Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong said Wednesday that even if DNA results, which are expected as early as next week, do not match team members, no one is necessarily exonerated. The attackers could have used condoms or might not have been team members, Nifong said."

Two days later [after the initial 911 call], officers searched the home. Police have said they used those two days to interview the victim, witnesses and residents of the house to build probable cause for a search warrant. Nifong would not comment on why the delay happened, but he said that because of it, investigators could have missed some evidence. For instance, if condoms were used, Nifong said, those would have been gone before the search.

The victim stated that she tried to leave, but the three males (Adam, Bret, and Matt) forcefully held her legs arms and raped and sexually assaulted her anally, vaginally and orally. The victim stated she was hit, kicked, and strangled during the assault. As she attempted to defend herself, she was overpowered. The victim reported she was sexually assaulted for an approximately 30 minute time period by the three males...

She claimed she was clawing at one of the suspect's arms in an attempt to breathe while being strangled. During that time the nails broke off.

NIFONG: But let me point out that the evidence that she would present with respect to that particular situation is that she was grabbed from behind. So that in essence, somebody had an arm around her like this, which she then had to struggle with in order to be able to breathe, and it was in the course of that struggle that the fingernails—the artificial fingernails broke off.

...two examining physicians for Crystal Mangum reported that she only complained of a vaginal assault and made no claim of any other kind of assault. The probable cause affidavit also neglected to mention that an examining doctor found no evidence of other physical assault. In fact, one doctor noted during his examination of Crystal Mangum between 3:14 a.m. and 3:40 a.m. that she denied being hit and that she claimed no neck, back, chest or abdomen tenderness. These facts are supported by the nurses examining Crystal Mangum at 2:53 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. who each found the total absence of any object signs or symptoms of pain.

The Duke Lacrosse Players - "WALL OF SILENCE"

Mike Nifong repeatedly complained that the Duke lacrosse players refused to cooperate with his investigation.

MICHAEL NIFONG, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It just seems like a shame that they are not willing to violate this seeming sacred sense of loyalty to team for loyalty to community which seems to me to be a bigger issue.

I would like to think that somebody who was not in the bathroom has the human decency to call up and say, "What am I doing covering up for a bunch of hooligans?" I'd like to be able to think that there were some people in that house that were not involved in this and were as horrified by it as the rest of us are.

If I can go back to two months ago when the police first came to my home, I fully cooperated and have continued to try to cooperate with them. When they entered in and started to read the search warrant, my roommates and I helped them find evidence for almost an hour and told them that if they had any questions, we would gladly answer them to show that nothing happened that night.

After that, I went down to the police station and gave an un-counseled statement because I knew that I had done nothing wrong and did not feel that I needed an attorney. After going through photos of my teammates and identifying who was there, I then submitted perfectly willingly DNA samples to the police. I then turned over my e-mail account, my AIM account, any kind of information that they could have to show that I had not communicated any way that anything happened because it did not happen.

After that, I had to take a polygraph, which was refused by the Durham Police Department. Over the past several weeks, I‘ve repeatedly through my lawyer tried to attempt—tried to contact the district attorney, all of my attempts have been denied. I tried to provide him with exculpatory evidence showing that this could not have happened, those attempts have been denied...

Court papers: On March 16, three team captains -- David Evans, Matt Zash and Dan Flannery -- assisted police in searching their house at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. The three players then went to the police station without lawyers, gave statements and DNA samples, and offered to take polygraph exams. The three players gave police their cell phones and laptop computers. The three men later hired lawyers, and discussions with Nifong ended. The other 43 lacrosse players also hired lawyers and did not talk with investigators.

NIFONG: Well, again, I have—certainly one of the theories that I've heard is that the woman who was not inside was the person who made that call. And again, I don't really intend to comment on any of that to the extent that any of that is relevant. That is evidence that will be heard at trial.

ABRAMS: Have you identified the person who made the 911-call?

NIFONG: Have I personally identified...

ABRAMS: Yes.

NIFONG: Do I know if the...

ABRAMS: Do you know who it is?

NIFONG: ... to my knowledge that—I do not.

ABRAMS: OK. So that person has not come forward to say I was the one who made the call.

NIFONG: The circumstances of the case are not suggestive of the alternate explanation that has been suggested by some of the members of the situation. There is evidence of trauma in the victim’s vaginal area that was noted when she was examined by a nurse at the hospital.

The O'Reilly Factor 3/29/06:

"There's not a doubt in my mind that she was raped and assaulted at this location."

Crystal Mangum gave multiple conflicting accounts to police and contradictory statements to medical personnel about exactly what happened the morning of March 14th.

Crystal Mangum told two doctors that she was assaulted vaginally and mentioned no other assault. She denied being hit. The SANE nurse's pelvic examination found swelling or "diffuse edema of the vaginal walls" but no other injuries. The nurse made no conclusions or opinions about rape or sexual assault in her report.

Nifong lied about reading the medical report

More lies - did the police/prosecutor really have the medical records they claimed they had in March? Investigator Benjamin Himan did not pick up the subpoenaed medical records until April 5, 2006.

"On March 29, 2006, Mr. Nifong claimed to have read a medical report that, according to discovery, was not printed until March 30, 2006, or retrieved by law enforcement pursuant to Mr. Nifong's own subpoena until April 5, 2006," wrote Joseph V. Cheshire V and Bradley Bannon, lawyers for lacrosse player David Evans.

Here is another reference about having subpoenaed medical records in March, that even the defense missed. Again, Investigator Himan did not pick up the subpoenaed records until April 5, 2006. How could they have this on March 27th? The Probable Cause Affidavit dated March 27, 2006, said:

Medical records and interviews that were obtained by a subpoena revealed the victim had signs, symptoms, and injuries consistent with being raped and sexually assaulted vaginally and anally. Furthermore, the SANE nurse stated the injuries and her behavior were consistent with a traumatic experience.